I have an Inspiron 660 that I think occasionally ends up in sleep mode - perhaps the Windows Hybrid sleep. This usually happens with an unexpected power loss, although sometimes with a shut down that reports in the event log as an unexpected power loss.

When the PC ends up in this state then I usually have a long, frustrating period of trying to get it out of that state.

When I turn it on then all the fans start running, but I never get any power through to the monitor, and the monitor just reports that it is going in to sleep mode.

So I think this is the fast startup that is bypassing POST and then trying to load Windows. I suspect that the Windows sleep/hibernate file is probably corrupt because of the power loss and so it can't get in to Windows and come out of sleep.

I try all the usual things, like removing CMOS battery, using the jumpers to clear the CMOS and the password (even though I don't have a password configured).

I hold the power button in until it turns off. I even try unplugging all power cables from the motherboard while the CMOS battery is out.

I do this over and over and over, until eventually (maybe 20-100+ attempts) it eventually gives me a BIOS/POST message that says it has detected that there have been multiple attempts to restart and would I like to check the settings. If I say yes then I go into the BIOS, save the settings and Windows starts up without any problems and I can work as if nothing happened.

in some cases it will work fine for weeks, but then something will happen that takes me into this state again. The cycle of resetting and restarting goes on until I can eventually get to the BIOS message and get in to the BIOS and startup Windows again.

I am now in that state again and after 2 days of restarting, I am still not getting into the BIOS.

Occasionally I get the amber light on the power switch, but a CMOS resolves that. Sometimes I get 5 beeps for the system clock, but that also goes away after a CMOS clear.

If I remove the memory modules then I get the 2 beeps,but nothing on the video signal.

Somehow I need a way to bypass the Fast startup so that I can get in to the BIOS. I have turned this off in the past, but I think it gets enabled when I do a clear of the BIOS.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?